The native food industry in Australia is vast and largely untapped. Yet, more and more people are becoming curious. Many want to start their own bush food gardens, the 'native verge' concept introduced by many local councils is also an encouraging sign that Australians are embracing the land and the amazing array of exotic looking plants.
Businesses that focus on native plants as a possible food source in our own backyard are certainly starting to spring up. As a chef, this is an exciting time to learn from the start how these plants were used in the past, the spiritual significance, their nutritional value and how in the modern day certain plants can be propagated. In my search to learn more I was lucky enough to be introduced to Tuckerbush, a native plant brand that is the brainchild of Mark Tucek.
With over three decades experience in the horticultural industry, Mark's knowledge is vast. And more importantly, his commitment and passion for native plants is obvious. With the support of Domus Nursery, Tuckerbush plants such as Samphire and Native guava can now be purchased at local hardware and garden centres such as Bunnings. The RiverMint garden will soon have native guava, bloodroot and munthari berry growing in the garden and we look forward to the new Native fruit and Vegetable range coming up soon.
We are excited to use our urban garden for featured ingredients on our menus. It is our hope that in time we will be able to maintain a larger garden plot that will supply many different and unique native food plants for Rivermint events. For a recipe featuring one of our favourite native fruits and to check out the new Tuckerbush website, click here. We love to experiment with different textures and flavours and this Davidson Plum, Tapioca and coconut dessert is sure to impress.